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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. H. H. LUSGOMB 8:; W. P. D. CRANE.

INSULATOR.

No. 578,825. Patented Mar. 16,1897.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. H. LUSOOMB 8: W. F. D. CRANE.

INSULATOR.

No. 578,825. Patented Mar. 16,1897.

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HENRY II. LUSCOMB, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, AND WILLIAM F. D. CRANE, OF ORANGE, NEIV JERSEY, ASSIGNORS TO THE JOHNS-FEAT" COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

i N S U LAT O R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 578,82 5, dated Tfiarch 16, 1897.

Application filed October 24, 1896, erial No. 609,980. .No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: other common means for securing the insu- Be it known that we, HENRY H. LUSQOMB, lator to a support may be employed. residing at Hartford, Connecticut, and WIL- Projecting from the body of the form of iu LIAM F. D. CRANE, residing at Orange, New sulator shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 are arms 4:

5 Jersey, citizens of the United States, have inand 5. The arm a has a flat inner edge and vented certain new and useful ln'iprovements the arm 5 has a groove 6, which is adapted to in Insulators, of which the following is a receive the pivot of the fingers 7. These finspecification. gers are preferably cast integral with the pivot The invention relates to those insulators 8 and supporting-floor 9. The pivot is laid to which are more particularly employed for in the groove in the arm 5 and the edge 10 of supporting heavy wires and cables, such as the groove bent over so as to retain the pivot the feed-wires of electric-railway systems and in place. cables containing telegraph or telephone lVhen the fin ers of this form of insulator wires. are turned up, a feed-wire or cable can be I 5 The object of the invention is to provide a laid in them, and the weight of this will turn simple and comparatively inexpensive insuthe fingers down so that the arm awill be oplator which will readily receive a feed-wire or posite the opening between them. The weight cable and automatically lock it securely in of the feed-wire or cable tends to draw the position in such manner that it cannot be lower of the fingers downward, and this of 20 accidentally displaced, but can be easily recourse causes the upper of the fingers to close moved when desired. the space between the horns'at the top. The

To this end the invention resides in an infeed-wire or cable, which usually has a comsulator having means 'for attachment to a paratively soft exterior covering, is also pole, arm, bracket, or other support and havcrowded against the face of the arm 4; suffi- 25 ing a part that can be set so as to readily reciently to be indented on one side, so that it ceive the wire or cable and by its weight be cannot slip in either direction. automaticallymovedinto suchaposition that In Fig. a the insulator illustrated has finthe greater the weight the more tightly will gers 11, which are held in place by pivots 12, the wire or cable be grasped and held, as more that are supported in bearings formed in the 30 particularlyhereinafter described, and pointupper ends of the arms projecting from the ed out in the claims. top of the body. hen these fingers are Referring to the accompanying drawings, turned up and opened, a wire or cable can Figure 1 is a plan of an insulator embodying be laid between them, and then the weight the invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation of one exerted thereby on the lower parts of the fin- 3 5 side of the same with aportion broken away to gers will cause them to be turned downward 8 5 illustrate the construction. Fig. 3 is an eleon their pivots, and this causes them to vation looking from another side. Fig. 4 is tightly clasp whatever is between. The a view showing a modified embodiment of the greater the weight of the wire or cable the invention. Fig. 5 is aview of a modification. harder will be the grasp of these fingers, for

40 Fig. 6 is a view of another modification, and the greater weight will tend to bear the inner Fig. 7 is a view of still another modification. ends down harder, and this downward move- The body of the insulator illustrated conment of the ends causes the ends to move tosists of aninteriormass of insulation 1,which ward each other and thus bite the wire or can be formed of any suitable substance, with cable with a grasp relatively proportional to 45 an exterior protecting-case 2, which can be the weight of the wire or cable. 5 formed of metal to any desired outline. The In the form shown in Fig. 5 the fingers 1?) interior insulating composition is provided and l lare connected by a pivot 15. The with a threaded socket 3, so the insulator can lower finger 13 is fitted to slide loosely up and be secured upon a common pin, but of course down the arms that project from the body of 50 without departing from the invention any the insulator, and the upper finger 14 has 011 l l a its back a cam-shoulder 16, that is adapted to engage with the upper edge of one of the arms. lVhen the wire or cable is laid 011 the lower of the fingers of this form, its weight tends to draw down the fingers and the engagement of the cam-shoulder 16 with the edge of the arm causes the upper of the fingers to close down upon the top of the wire or cable.

In the modification shown in Fig. 6 the fingers 17 and 18 are hinged together near the top of the body. The finger 17 of this form is pivoted to one of the arms that project from the body, and. the finger 18 is provided with a shoulder 19, that is adapted to bear on an inclining surface 20, formed on one of the arms. The weight of the wire or cable support-ed by an insulator of this form tends to draw the fingers downward, and this movement causes them to close together.

The modification shown in Fig. 7 has fingers 21 22 hinged together. These are arranged so their outer edges bear against the inner edges of the arms, and when the weight of the wire or cable which they support draws them downward they are closed together. These fingers are shown as provided with outward projections 22, that pass through perforationsin the arms, so as to prevent the complete accidental removal of the fingers from the arms when the insulator is in use.

With all of these forms of insulators the wire or cable which is supported between the arms projecting from the bodyis grasped and held in position by lingers which are actuated and closed by the weight of the material which they are called upon to support, and the greater the strain the more tightly will the wire or cable be grasped and the more securely will it be held in position. A wire or cable held in such manner cannot creep under expansion and contraction nor move longitudinally through the insulator or be pulled along so as to drop down when the wire or cable becomes broken on either side of an insulator.

lVe claim as our invention 1. An insulator consisting of a body provided with means for attachment to a support and having arms that project upwardly from opposite sides of the body near the top, fingers loosely connected with and movable between the arms, a part of the fingers being adapted to support the wire and a part of the fingers being caused to embrace the wire by the action of the weight of the wire, substantially as specified.

2. An insulator consisting of a body provided with means for attachment to a support and having arms that project upwardly from opposite sides of the body near the top, fingers loosely connected with and movable between the arms in such manner that the weight of the wire which they support causes them to he so moved as to lessen the distance be tween themselves and thus be forced to grasp the wire, substantially as specified.

An insulator consisting of a body provided with means for attachment to a sup port and having arms that project upwardly from opposite sides of the body near the top, fingers loosely connected with and movable between the opposite arms in such manner that when the wire to be supported is in position between the arms above the center of the body the lower part of the fingers lie beneath and form the immediate support of the wire and the upper part of the fingers extend above and are caused to embrace the wire by the action of the weight of the wire, substantially as specified.

4. An insulator consisting of a body having an interior mass of insulating compound and an exterior metallic case, integral arms projecting from the upper end of the case, connected fingers loosely connected to one of the arms in such manner that when a wire is in position between the arms the lower part of the fingers lie beneath the wire and the upper part of the fingers extend over the wire, substantially as specified.

HENRY II. LUSCOMIJ. \V. F. D. CRANE. lVitnesses:

II. R. WILLIAMs, E. J. HYDE, FRED M. PATRICK, W. H. LUDINGTON. 

